Posted on 07/05/2009 10:40:17 AM PDT by AmericaTalks
Sarah Palin's abrupt decision to step down as governor of Alaska has left many people on both sides of the aisle scratching their heads.
Palin has successfully survived fifteen ethics complaints. Her Lt. Governor, Sean Parnell who will succeed her at the end of this month, said Sunday that "she has plenty of time now within which to define how she will further her core values."
Her announcement leaves open the possibility that she will run for higher office. Some on the right, such as William Kristol of the Weekly Standard, have said her move was 'crazy like a fox', and that this will be the launching pad for a GOP presidential bid.
The reasoning that putting the distractions of her current office behind her to concentrate on a higher calling doesn't wash with some, however, who believe that she will be viewed as a quitter. Others have said that if she believes that resigning the governorship will help her to avoid further scrutiny, she is sadlymistaken. Mike Huckabee, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said "it could be a brilliant strategy. The point is we don't know. It's risky in that there's no forgone conclusion as to whether it will play out."
Palin is a polarizing figure in American politics. She has a huge fan base, who like her spunk, her down-to-earth attitude and her common sense approach to the issues.
But she has her detractors who view her as less than competent. Quin Hillyer, in a piece in the American Spectator, wrote that "Sarah Palin's resignation is an appalling dereliction of duty and a highly cynical move to set herself up for a presidential run for which she is manifestly unqualified."
It is highly doubtful that Palin's resignation means that she is retiring from public life. More than likely, it is probably a move meant to keep her popularity as a national figure high, even as her popularity within her own state continues to decline.
The issue of whether she should have finished out her term as governor before launching a campaign for higher office is the one that has people talking. If she was afraid that running for a second term as governor and losing would make her damaged goods as a presidential candidate, she could have simply chosen to sit out the next gubernatorial election. But why quit in the middle of here first term? We don't know the answer to that question yet. But if indeed she has aspirations for higher office, her move may prove to be a risky one.
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As any gambler knows, before one moves, one must be prepared to lose EVERYTHING.
The higher the risk the sweeter the deal.
As any gambler knows, before one moves, one must be prepared to lose EVERYTHING.
The higher the risk the sweeter the deal.
She has scared the crap out of the liberals once again.
They just cannot get her off their minds.
It’s like they are possessed by her. they hate her , but they cannot get her of their minds, she is their greatest fear.
When you’re on a train that is out of control and speeding downhill at great speed, some would believe you might need to take some risks. Sitting inside, fat, dumb and stupid, isn’t really going to do much for you.
If you had actually LISTENED to her.... you would know the answer.
Just because is causes cognitive dissonance with the left and RINOs doesn't mean it's not a valid answer.
/johnny
The author of the above statement is so intellectually dishonest, she even lies to herself. It is logically impossible for the resignation of an unqualfied person to be a dereliction of duty.
Don’t ya love these monday morning quarterbacks coming out of the woodwork trying to figure out what is going on in Sarah’s head..she knows EXACTLY what she is doing. Before she decided to do this, the first thing she thought of was people thinking she was “quitting” and “couldn’t handle the pressure” she knows all this, DUH..and did it anyway, so she has something up her sleeve, she probably consulted with many people before making this decision. She is smarter then some are giving her credit for. She came from humble beginnings and made something of her life without the help of a famous last name or some elitist school, she did it all on her own. She is probably sitting at home right now, laughing at people who claim to know what she is doing and what her future holds. It’s fun watching libs squirm, like watching a chicken with it’s head cut off
Declaration of Independence a risky move.
Yes, for the 1960s Marxist-Alinsky street rabble and their ideological issue.
To wit, I recall when Reagan was governor of California he used to drive the Marxist-Alinsky street (and campus) rabble nuts because they could circle him shouting, threatening and it did not upset him the tiniest iota.
Sarah Palin has that composure, I believe.
How about her own TV show (and I hope it's repeated on radio) where she has a segment, for example, Tell me to my face, punk.
She would challenge the Alinsky lying mau-mauers to come on the air with her. As the liar rants and raves and the spittle flies (it's what they do) the camera could focus on Ms Palin smiling and tolerant.
To borrow a bit of dialogue from a movie from Sarah’s (not to mention my) college days:
“Sometimes you have to say, ‘What the ****!’ Make your move!”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re all set. You’re probably going to Harvard. Me, I don’t want to make a mistake, jeopardize my future!”
“Joel, let me tell you something. Every now and then, say ‘What the ****!’ ‘What the ****!’ gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future.”
—Curtis Armstrong and Tom Cruise, “Risky Business”
Mark Levine puts the move in perspective...
http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2009/07/talk-radio-hosts-react-to-palins.html
Rational thinking is not a characteristic of the liberal mind.
Palin knows who she is in Alaska and she does a good job up there by all accounts. But she was never able to define herself on national issues. No one believed that she believed what she said. She was either speaking in cliches or regurgitating McCains talking points. Now that she is leaving office after 2 1/2 years, very few who were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt will still support her.
She could probably do more outside of Alaska, getting conservatives elected. Still, I don’t think it was a smart move if she has abmitions for higher office. I’m less inclined to support her for sure.
I think Palin knew well the risk she was taking and had no problem thinking of herself as out of politics. She can take advantage of this opportunity while it is there, and provide for her family. Who can blame her?
This would:
* Bring conservative principles back to the RNC (small government, get government out of our lives, lower taxes, 2nd amendment support, state's rights, small business support, lower taxes, strong defense, no-nonsense foreign policies). Conservatism works every time it is tried.
* She could be a credible spokesperson for energy, drilling, etc in light of sane environmental initiatives.
* She could, on a daily basis, take the wind out of Barry's Marxist sails on a host of his anti-American issues (bank take-overs, nationalization of large sectors of the economy, socialism, class warfare, generational theft, bigger government, job killing). Her media appeal would take away from the daily barrage of "new plans" put out ad nauseum by Barry, Rahm, Steffy, and 'Astro-Turf' Axelrod. She would be a countervailing force to the crap we get from the White Crib on a nearly hourly basis. If Republicans embraced the Twitter, Facebook, MySpace internet viral communications, it would be a direct hit against Barry's minions.
* She could - and this is the biggest reason she should take over the RNC - help with a 1994-esque take-over of both houses and start blocking the hopey-dopey-changey-strangey crap we have seen for the last 6 months.
The Presidency would be OK for her later on, but short-term we need to do things that set the stage for long-term solutions, that is, GET THE SENATE BACK (which will run to the SCOTUS issues), get the HOUSE BACK (which runs to spending and social engineering issues).
We need to be strategic, not knee-jerk, and Sarah may be an important rallying point to meet these objectives AS THE HEAD of the RNC.
But I could be wrong....
There will be many Republican candidates that do not want to be associated with Palin. Much like the Republicans who did not want W campaigning for them in the end.
I think I have this all figured out. Palin is out to be a “Community Organizer”, she needs that experience to become qualified to run for President.
Being she can't counter the financial ruin cause by political operatives while in office, she must go.
She should use the issue to her advantage.
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